The Wolf and the Headless Horseman
by SWWoman
Summary: Crossover with Sleepy Hollow! Joss Carter and John Reese must call on their friends Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane when the Headless Horseman is spotted in New York. Is the apocalypse coming to the largest city in America?
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel to The Wolf and The Witness. You don't have to read that story to understand this one, you just have to know that the POI Team worked with and is friends with the Sleepy Hollow team.**

 **I started writing this fic a long time before the SH season finale aired. Katrina is alive and held prisoner by Henry Parrish, and Frank Irving is out of the hospital but not under influence of evil yet. Yeah, I'm fudging the SH season 2 timeline a bit, but I think you will like the result.**

 **Of course in my POI Wolf AU, Joss survived the attack by Simmons and Samaritan doesn't exist.**

 **As always I owe a huge heaping pile of gratitude to my beta, carolinagirl919. She keeps me out of trouble, that's a BIG job.**

 **Also, if you recognize it from either show, I don't own it.**

* * *

 **The Headless Horseman Appears**

Roy and Felipe shuffled through Central Park. It was dark, the sun had been down for over an hour now, but the two men were so familiar with the park that they walked with confidence down the dark path. Felipe shifted his bedroll to his other shoulder with a grunt. "Let's find a spot soon, I'm tired," he said to his companion in Spanish.

Roy nodded and replied in English, "'K, I'm tired too. There's a good spot just around that curve to hunker down for the night."

Felipe let out a rib cracking cough and Roy looked over at his friend with concern. Tomorrow he would have to take Felipe to the Free Clinic. He was pretty sure the other man had pneumonia, a common ailment among the homeless like themselves. Felipe didn't want to go because he was afraid he would get locked up in the psych ward on yet another 48 hour hold and force fed medications. Frankly, Roy thought it would be good idea for Felipe to get back on the meds. Felipe's schizophrenia was fairly mild and with the help of the meds, he could claw his way back to a normal life. But Felipe also had a strong streak of paranoia as well, preventing him from taking medications of any kind, no matter how much Roy argued with him.

Roy had taken it upon himself to look after the schizophrenic since he could speak fluent Spanish. Felipe understood English perfectly, but for some reason would only speak in rapid-fire Spanish and there were just not that many among the homeless population of the city that were willing to put up with that little quirk of his. Roy didn't mind though, Felipe was an excellent scavenger and quite talented at acquiring the alcohol that was Roy's life blood. Roy took care of Felipe during his schizophrenic episodes and Felipe took care of Roy when Roy was falling down drunk. They actually made quite the team.

Roy took his last swig of vodka and he pitched the bottle into the nearest garbage can. He didn't have enough to get drunk, but he'd had enough to keep the shakes at bay tonight. That was all Roy could ask for now. Tomorrow, he and Felipe would look for recycles to sell and he could get more.

Roy looked around in confusion as he heard something that sounded like hoof beats off in the distance. He saw Felipe look around with a puzzled expression as well and realized that his ears were not playing tricks on him; there really was a horse coming towards them. Roy frowned, he had been living in the park for a while now and he knew the schedule. The stables had long since closed, and there shouldn't be a rider out this late at night.

Then it occurred to Roy that it was possible that one of the horses had escaped their barn. Maybe if he and Felipe could catch the animal there would be a reward in it for them. As the hoof beats grew louder, Roy gently herded Felipe to the side of the path. If it was a rider or an escaped horse, they were probably safer standing to one side rather than in the middle of the path.

Roy had been homeless on the streets of New York for over six years and he had seen a lot of strange shit in that time, but nothing could prepare him for what came trotting around the corner. It was a large white horse unlike any other Roy had ever seen. The animal was huge with glowing red eyes and spikes running down the back of its neck instead of a mane. But the horse was not the most extraordinary thing, it was the rider.

The rider of the demonic horse was a very tall man dressed in the tattered uniform of a Red Coat Revolutionary War soldier; but that wasn't the most extraordinary thing about him.

 _The man had no head._

Roy and Felipe stared, stunned at the horse and rider for several seconds. Then just as Roy was about to turn to flee into the bushes from the terrifying sight, Felipe began screaming and babbling as if he had just seen the devil himself. For all Roy knew, they _had_.

Roy grabbed Felipe's arm in an attempt to drag the terrified man into the bushes and away from the horrible horse and rider, but Felipe was rooted to the spot as if he had been staked there and Roy was unable to move his friend to safety.

The rider turned his body in the direction of the terrified men and then turned the horse to trot directly at them. With one last frantic effort, Roy pushed his friend down the embankment to safety. It was the last thing Roy ever did. In an instant the horseman was on him and with unholy speed, unsheathed his sword and ran it completely through the helpless man's body, twisting it to do the maximum damage possible.

Roy tried to scream, but it only came out as a gurgle as his lungs swiftly filled with blood. The horseman simply placed his foot on Roy's back and yanked his sword from his body. Roy crumpled to the ground. The headless rider turned his demonic horse and they galloped back down the path without glance backward while the life passed out of Roy and the light died in his eyes.

It took Felipe several minutes to climb back up the embankment to the spot where Roy had pushed him. Cautiously, he clambered back over the edge to the path. He was relieved to see the horrible rider had left, but he could not find his friend in the dark. After a few minutes, he finally spied Roy's body lying in a large pool of blood.

Felipe dropped to his knees and wailed out his grief to the heavens. Heedless of the blood, he crawled to the man who had watched over him for the last couple of years and held his body as he rocked back and forth.

He was still in that position when he and Roy were found the next morning by the NYPD during their first patrol of the park just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. The patrolmen took one look at the amount of the blood and horrific wound on the dead man and called the Homicide Task Force immediately.

* * *

Detective Jocelyn Carter and her partner Detective Lionel Fusco strode through the park, unsure of what they would find. The call had been somewhat confusing, but they did know there was a dead guy and a whole lot of blood at the end of this path.

They ducked under the yellow police tape that stretched across the path and spotted a familiar face in the crowd of uniforms.

"Whatcha got, Laskey?" Joss asked her former partner.

The boyish officer shook his head at his former training officer. "Damned if I know, Joss. One guy is dead with the biggest damn knife wound ever and the other guy is covered in blood and crying. All he can do is babble in Spanish."

Joss looked over at the homeless man laying the ground curled in a ball. The uniforms on the scene had managed to peel him away from the dead man, but the poor guy was obviously in a great of distress. She saw Officer Diaz, who spoke fluent Spanish, kneel next to the man and try to engage him in conversation, but the unknown man simply ignored the officer and continued grieve loudly for his lost companion.

Joss walked over and looked at the dead man. Her heart froze in her chest as she noted certain similarities to another homeless man who had been brought into her precinct a few years ago after beating some punks on the subway. This man could have John's brother. He was tall and slender while his hair and beard were long and gray.

Joss pulled her eyes from the victim's face and down to the huge wound in his chest. Fusco had already put on a pair of gloves and was now squatting down next to the body, carefully turning it so he could see the back.

Fusco stood up with a grunt. "The wound goes all the way through the body. If I didn't know better I would say he got run through with a sword, _Game of Thrones_ style."

Joss sighed and looked around. "God knows, stranger things have happened in New York. But I don't see a murder weapon lying around; whoever did this must have taken it with them."

The crowd of officers surrounding them parted to allow the coroner and her gurney through. CeCe Watson, a black woman in her mid-forties who braided her long hair back when she was on the job, looked down at the victim and then over at Joss. "Any idea what happened?"

Joss shrugged. "At this point your guess is as a good as mine, probably better. This guy has what looks like a sword wound going through his body and our only witness appears to have mental health issues."

CeCe glanced over at the grieving man who Officer Diaz was still trying to engage in conversation. "Good guess there," she said, her eyes full of sympathy. CeCe saw death several times a day, but she never lost her humanity. She recognized genuine grief when she saw it.

Leaving CeCe to do her job, Joss walked over and knelt next to Diaz. "Any luck?"

Diaz sighed heavily. Joss knew he was a patient man, so if he was getting frustrated, it was pretty bad. "Sorry Carter, whatever he saw scared him too bad. He's just incoherent."

"Hey Carter!" Laskey's call drew her attention and she stood up.

Joss turned her head to see Laskey lifting the crime scene tape and admitting John to the scene. Joss was incredibly grateful to see he was not wearing his usual uniform of dark suit and white shirt, but had changed into the outfit he tended to wear around her police colleagues, jeans, dark t-shirt, and leather jacket. The last thing they needed was for Detective Carter's mate to be recognized as the Man in a Suit.

Fusco looked over as he was ripping off the gloves. "Swell, Alpha's here. That means things are only going to get weirder," he grumbled under his breath.

Joss shot her partner a reproachful look and hurried over to her mate. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

John gently kissed her forehead. "The Machine hijacked Finch's computer to show him the feed from the security camera over there." He indicated a camera mounted on a pole down the path. "We thought I'd better come see what was going on."

Joss looked over at the camera. "I don't suppose that Finch could see what happened here last night?"

John shook his head. "No, it was too dark. He's trying to enhance the feed and lighten it up, but it's going to take a few hours, if it even works. What do you know?"

Fusco joined them. "We got a body with a big-ass blade wound and a witness who is looking at a one-way ticket to Bellevue's Nut Hatch. Both vic and witness are homeless and have no IDs."

John looked grim. "I might able to help with that." Joss and Fusco both understood why. Just a few short years ago, John himself had been homeless and still spent some of his precious spare time volunteering at soup kitchens between working the numbers and raising his family. He knew a lot of the homeless denizens of Manhattan.

Joss and Lionel led John over to where the dead man lay. John Looked down at this face and Joss could immediately tell that John did know the victim. She squeezed his hand and he looked over at her. "Roy Travers. He was from Idaho originally, or so he claimed. He had a few dozen arrests for public drunkenness, so you should be able to use fingerprints for a positive ID."

John looked over at the grieving survivor. "That must be Felipe Valdez. He and Roy stayed together."

"John, he's the only one who knows what happened here last night, but Diaz can't get him to talk. Can you try? He knows you, he might talk to you."

John looked at Felipe for several seconds and then looked down at Joss. He gave her quick, tight nod and strode over to the man lying on the ground. John knelt down and spoke softly to Felipe. Joss was relieved to see Felipe look up at John in recognition and respond. They spent several minutes talking in Spanish with Felipe becoming increasingly agitated. John laid a hand on Felipe's wrist in an attempt to calm the man, but Felipe sat up and grabbed John's jacket. Felipe looked John in the eyes and talked rapidly, his eyes huge and desperate. John did not take his eyes off Felipe's and he listened intently as Felipe gestured wildly. Finally, Felipe let go of John and buried his face in his hands. John patted the bereft man's shoulder and spoke in a low voice. Felipe nodded and John stood up.

John returned to Joss and Lionel, his face grim. "What did he say, John?" Joss asked quietly. She knew that look and it filled her with dread.

"He said Roy was killed by a Headless Horseman with a sword."

Joss and Lionel gaped at John. "You don't believe that?" Fusco exclaimed.

John shocked the detective by nodding his head. "I do. Felipe is schizophrenic with a dash of paranoia, but he's no liar."

John turned to his mate. "Call Abbie and Ichabod. We need them here."

* * *

"It's too been too quiet these last few days, Lieutenant," Ichabod Crane stated flatly.

Abbie Mills looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow. "You say that like it's bad thing."

Crane took a long pull from his Starbucks latte and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "As much as I am enjoying the respite from battling the supernatural, I cannot help but feel that Moloch has some plan afoot."

Abbie's phone buzzed loudly and she checked the caller ID. A huge smile spread across her face. "It's Joss," she said happily.

"Give her my regards," Crane said absently as he sipped his drink.

"Joss! How are you?" Abbie squealed in delight as she answered the phone. Crane watched as Abbie's expression went from happy to somber. He sat up straight in his chair and watched her intently, aware something was very wrong.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Abbie said and she rang off. "Pack your bags, Crane. The Headless Horseman killed a man in Central Park last night; the Apocalypse is headed for New York City."

Crane stood up and headed for the door. "Why must I always be right?" he grumbled as he followed Abbie out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to New York**

Abbie's SUV entered the outskirts of New York City on its way to Manhattan. She glanced over to see Crane staring wide-eyed at the tall buildings that were starting to surround them. Her lips twitched as she held in her laughter. If Crane thought these buildings were impressive, just wait until they got to Manhattan.

"Are all cities like this?" Crane asked as his head swiveled around trying to take in all the details of the city.

"New York is one of the biggest," Abbie said. "See those skyscrapers ahead? That's Manhattan, where Joss and John live."

"Do they ever see the sun? How can a Wolf survive in such an environment?"

"There are lots of parks for their pack to run in," Abbie explained. "Sometimes they leave New York and drive out to the country. Joss mentioned Harold has a cabin in the woods they use a lot."

Crane scrunched down in his seat looking very uncomfortable and somewhat intimidated. "The buildings certainly makes one feel small and closed in."

Abbie shrugged without taking her eyes off the road. Traffic was quite heavy and she had to focus. "Joss has lived here her entire life except for the time she was in the Army. I suppose she's used to it."

Crane looked up at the buildings again and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I do not see how anyone could get used to this!"

Abbie laughed. "You would be surprised what people can get used to."

"Is that woman's hair _purple_?" Ichabod squawked and pointed to woman crossing the street in front of them.

Abbie snorted. "Well I would call it lavender, but yeah, some people dye their hair to express their individuality."

Ichabod harrumphed. "Surely there are plenty of ways to express one's individuality without resorting garish and unnatural hair colors."

Abbie laughed. "Welcome to New York City, Crane. You'll be lucky if that's the weirdest thing we see while we're here!"

Ichabod indicated a woman leaning against a light post on a street corner. "I supposed she is expressing her individuality as well?"

Abbie glanced over as they drove and saw the woman was wearing a midriff baring top, short shorts, and impossibly high heels with a short fur jacket. Her yellow blonde hair was piled sky high on her head, her makeup was overdone, and her nails were vibrant red. She had a cigarette dangling from her lips and several large chunky pieces of jewelry around her neck and on her wrists.

"Um, no. That woman is expressing her profession," Abbie rolled her eyes.

"Profession?" Crane was confused.

"The world's oldest profession," Abbie explained.

"Farmers dress that way in this century?" Crane was even more confused. "I fail to see how that is practical! How could one walk across a barn yard with those shoes?"

"That's not the world's oldest profession," Abbie sighed. "She's a… a… um…" It took her a minute to think of the proper term from Crane's era. "She a camp follower; a provider of services as it were."

Crane turned around in his seat for one last view of the lady of the evening. "She certainly would have kept morale very high in Valley Forge."

* * *

Fortunately, one aspect of modern civilization that Ichabod had mastered was Google Maps and with his help Abbie easily found the address Joss had given her. It proved to be an upscale and grand townhouse in a very exclusive neighborhood. It took Abbie a few minutes to find a parking spot a block away. They walked up to the townhouse and stopped on the sidewalk outside looking at the structure. Five stories tall with a stone façade, it was the type of building normally subdivided into several very expensive apartments. However, there was only one mailbox in front, indicating that the impressive home had not been not divided, but was one residence. In other words, this was one damn expensive property they were about to enter.

"Do Detective Carter and Mr. Reese live here?" Crane asked curiously.

Abbie shook her head. "This belongs to Harold. John and Joss use it as a safe house. Joss says Harold owns several places like this." Truthfully, Abbie was a bit freaked out by this display of wealth. She had never guessed that the quiet, unassuming man she had met back in Sleepy Hollow had amassed a fortune that made Donald Trump look like a kindergartner saving money for ice cream.

Crane examined the brownstone carefully. While he was still getting used to this strange century, he recognized the property in front of him as expensive and in an affluent neighborhood. "Mr. Finch appears to be a man of wealth and influence."

Abbie nodded her head as she looked at the house in front of them. "Joss did say Harold was a living Daddy Warbucks."

"Daddy Warbucks?" Ichabod asked in confusion.

"Rich dude, in the comics. Has more money than God," Abbie explained.

Crane blinked several times. "I was unaware that God had money, or that the heavenly father even needed currency."

Abbie sighed and silently prayed for patience. "It's just a saying, Crane. It just means someone is really rich."

"But it's nonsensical!" Crane snapped.

Fortunately, Abbie's and Ichabod's conversation was interrupted before it could completely deteriorate by Joss opening the door to the brownstone. "I thought I saw you guys out here! Come on in!" And she waved them in.

Abbie and Ichabod entered to find a sunken living room that required them walk down a short staircase. Besides Joss, Harold, John, Fusco and Shaw were all gathered there waiting for them.

"Hey Icky!" Shaw called out.

"Oh dear God, here we go again," grumbled Crane under his breath.

Abbie giggled. "Hey, Sam. What happened to your couth?" she asked with a wink.

Shaw winkled back. "Gave up. You're just going to have to get used to crass old me."

Joss gave Abbie a hug. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

Once all the hellos were exchanged between the Witnesses and Team Machine Harold gently herded everyone into the sunken living room.

"So, Joss tells that the Headless Horseman has been spotted in Central Park?" Abbie asked as she and Crane settled down on one of the couches.

"Last night he killed a homeless man by running him through with a sword," Joss stated flatly as she sat on the couch across from the Witnesses. "We don't know why he did it or why he's in New York."

"Forgive my asking, Detective, but are you sure it was the Headless Horseman?" Crane asked politely. He could not imagine the Horseman feeling any more comfortable in New York than he did.

In reply, Finch lifted the remote control he held in his hand and the large flat screen TV over the fireplace sprang to life, drawing the attention of the two Witnesses. The video on the screen showed a dark path in a park lit by a single street light. After a few seconds two men carrying large packs walked through the small patch of light to vanish into the darkness again. The Witnesses continued to watch and were finally rewarded with seeing the Headless Horseman on his white horse gallop rapidly through the patch of light. It was a very quick glimpse lasting only a couple of frames since the beast was moving so quickly, but that was all that was needed for Abbie and Ichabod to remove all doubt from their minds. The Headless Horseman was indeed on the loose in the biggest city in America.

"Who else knows about this?" Abbie asked quietly. The implications of having a Horseman of the Apocalypse in a large city scared her badly. There were millions of potential victims within a few mile radius of the park.

"No one," Fusco replied. "Finch was able to modify the official surveillance video to remove the Headless Horseman's New York debut; this is the only unaltered copy. The only witness to your favorite demon's swordplay was another homeless guy who's also a head case. He's under a 72 hour psych hold at Bellevue, and no one believes him except us. Joss and I drew the case, so no other cops will be nosing around. We just need to know how to kill this demon so we can move on."

Abbie shrugged. "He's Death. You don't kill Death. All we can do is temporarily stop him. Sunlight is his big weakness. Gunshots also slow him down."

"Now you're talking," Shaw said and she pulled an enormous handgun from her waistband.

"You're going to need a bigger gun than that. I know you have them," Abbie said, trace of amusement creeping into her voice.

John smirked and picked up a gym bag from the floor behind the couch where Joss had been sitting and dropped it on the coffee table. Abbie was puzzled to see a hand written tag labeled "Plan B" hanging off the zipper. John opened the bag to reveal several very large and evil looking weapons.

Abbie grinned and pulled out a shotgun. "I knew I could count on you."

John winked at the Sleepy Hollow lieutenant. "We're here for you."

Crane cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to him. "We still don't know why the Headless Horseman saw fit to relocate to the city."

"Do you think the Apocalypse is moving to New York?" Shaw asked.

Abbie shook her head. "Jenny is keeping an eye on Henry Parrish back in Sleepy Hollow, and he's still there. It appears that Headless is here on some sort of temporary assignment and flying solo."

"Who's Henry Parrish and why should we care where he is?" Fusco asked, obviously puzzled.

Abbie shifted uncomfortably in her seat and her eyes cut over to Crane. Crane looked down at this lap, obviously upset about something. Joss's right eyebrow shot to her hairline as she watched them, but she remained silent waiting for the Witnesses to break the silence. The rest of the pack, sensing something important was about to be revealed, remained silent, waiting to see what had made Crane so uncomfortable.

"Lieuftenant, do we have to share my family issues with everyone?" Crane complained.

Abbie fixed Crane with a furious glare that threatened to set him on fire. "Yes we do, Crane," she snapped. "They're our allies and they need to know _everything_." Crane sighed and made a "go on" gesture with his hand.

Abbie looked around the expectant faces of the group. "The Horseman of War also walks the Earth. He's Ichabod's and Katrina's son, Jeremy but he goes by Henry Parrish now. Katrina was forced to abandon him as a child because her coven was after her for going rogue and she couldn't protect him. The coven, afraid of Jeremy's powers and potential, buried him alive. Moloch saved him and now he thinks of Moloch as his father. Needless to say, Henry doesn't think much of his parents."

An incredulous Fusco looked back and forth between Abbie and Crane like he was at a tennis match. "Wait, so the Horseman of War, a horseman of the freaking Apocalypse is a horseman because he has daddy issues?"

"Oh, it gets better…" Abbie began.

"Do we have to do this?" Crane grumbled. Abbie crossed her arms and glared at her co-Witness. Crane sighed and rolled his eyes. "The Headless Horseman was once a man. His name was Abraham and he was… he was my friend.

"He was a loyal American patriot and I trusted him with my life. And then we…had a falling out." Crane paused and took a deep breath. "We were on a mission when Abraham confided to me that his fiancée Katrina had ended their engagement. I was duty-bound to tell my friend at she had declared her love for me just before we had left on our mission.

"After Abraham found out that I was the one who had stolen Katrina's affections, we fought, but we were interrupted by the Hessians. They captured Abraham and turned him into the Horseman of Death and he began to serve evil. He has sworn to take revenge upon me and win Katrina back."

Fusco rolled his eyes. "Let me get this straight. The Headless Horseman is the Horseman of Death because he got _dumped_? Like that's never happened to any other man EVER! What's next? The Horseman of Conquest turned to the dark side because he was bullied? Someone stole the Horseman of Famine's lunch money?"

Crane looked like he had indigestion. "I understand your feelings Detective, but as petty as these grievances seem to you, they are important to the men the Horsemen used to be and shaped them profoundly. They are what they are and you must not forget that the Headless Horseman is an extremely dangerous creature now."

John sat down next to Joss. "Crane's right. You can ask poor Roy Travers how dangerous the Horseman is. We need to figure out why he's is here before he kills again and the answer has got to be in Central Park. We'll have to do some reconnaissance tonight." He turned to the Witnesses. "I hope you're prepared to stay for a few days?"

"Yeah, we planned on being here a couple of days. I don't suppose you have a Motel 6 around here?" Abbie asked.

"Nonsense, you will stay here," Finch said firmly.

"Thank you for the opulent accommodations," Ichabod said with a small bow.

Finch nodded, accepting Crane's appreciation. "Now I suggest we all get some rest before tonight."

Knowing they were in for a very busy night, the group broke up after setting a time to meet later.

* * *

 **Coming Friday: John goes one on one with the Headless Horseman!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Night in Central Park**

The Wolves and the Witnesses met after dark at the safe house before taking a couple of cars over to the park. Once they were there, they walked to the spot where the Headless Horseman was last seen on the security camera footage. John handed Abbie and Ichabod ear pieces and he and Joss helped them place the equipment correctly.

Taking the lead, John broke them into teams of two. "Joss, you take Abbie and search towards the west. Shaw and Fusco, you two go east. Crane, you're with me, we'll take the north. As soon as anyone finds anything, call the rest of us." Without another word, the designated groups parted and took off towards their assigned areas.

John and Ichabod walked north on the path. After a few minutes, John pointed out a large reddish brown stain to one side of the pathway. "This is where the Horseman killed Roy," John whispered.

Crane looked carefully at the Alpha Wolf. "Roy? It sounds like you knew him."

John nodded, his eyes hard with anger. "I was homeless for nearly a year before I met Joss and Harold. I got to know a lot of the homeless in this area. I still volunteer at the soup kitchen when I have some time."

"I'm sorry about your friend," Crane replied. "I assure you I will do everything in my power to help you avenge his death."

John gave his companion a curt nod and then continued down the path. They walked in silence, their eyes constantly moving, looking for signs of supernatural activity. Suddenly, John stopped in tracks and held his hand up with the palm flat as he stood absolutely still, listening intently.

Crane, recognizing that John could hear something with his Wolf hearing that he could not, held still and strained to hear. Faintly, he heard hoof beats approaching. John's eyes flicked to Crane and Crane gave him a nod indicating he could hear the approaching horse as well. The two moved to opposite sides of the path and waited.

The Headless Horseman rode around the corner in the path. He paused for a split second as he saw Crane, and headed straight for the Witness at a full gallop. Crane tried to dodge the creature, but the unholy steed was far more agile than a normal horse and it changed direction easily, stepping in front of Crane, blocking his escape. Crane had no chance to get of the way before the mounted demon smashed the handle of his sword down on Crane's head. Crane groaned in pain and crumpled to the ground unconscious.

The Horseman dismounted and approached the fallen Witness, but John emptied his clip into the monster's back, drawing the attention of the demon away from the helpless Crane.

The headless monster turned and approached John, swinging his sword in a wide arc so fast that it made a thrumming sound. John returned his empty gun to his waistband and lowered his body, balancing perfectly on the balls of feet. He waited for the Horseman of Death to approach him while he coldly assessed the demon. With no face or eyes to target, John decided that going for the creature's joints like the knees was probably his best bet. John could tell by the way the creature was approaching him that he expected this to be an easy kill. However, the Horseman moved slowly on foot and his wide swings left him him open to attack. John smirked, this demon was in for a bit of a surprise; hand to hand combat techniques had advanced considerably since the Revolution.

John's assessment proved correct when the Headless Horseman reached him and swung his sword in a wide, sweeping arc. While the Horseman swung the sword with inhuman speed, John easily dodged the blade. With his opponent off balance at the peak of his swing, John grabbed the creature's sword wrist and smashed it over this knee, causing the demon to drop the sword. The demon jumped back and swung a hammer-like fist at the Wolf. John ducked underneath the Horseman's arm and delivered a series of body blows to the demon's unprotected stomach before dropping and rolling back out of the Horseman's reach.

A normal man would have been on the ground with severely damaged internal organs, but John was not fighting a normal man and he knew it. As John rolled to his feet, the Headless Horseman stepped back. John could tell from the demon's body language that he was confused; he hadn't been expecting John to put up such a fight. The creature closed on John again, but the agile Wolf easily dodged the next blow and delivered a full powered kick to the Horseman's groin.

That seemed to stagger the beast for a second before he charged at John once more. John's foot lashed out, catching Headless in the left knee and the demon went down to the ground. Unfortunately, John's heel caught on a clump of grass as he jumped back and he went down on his back. Seeing his advantage, Headless reached out and grabbed John's ankle with a grip of iron. John kicked at the gaping wound where the creature's head should have been, but the Horseman's grip didn't loosen. In fact he increased the pressure and John realized the Horseman of Death was going to crush his ankle in his inhumanly strong hand.

Suddenly, a black Wolf was on the Headless Horseman, sinking her ivory fangs deep into his wrist. Joss had felt her mate's danger through their bond and had responded as a She Wolf should.

The horseman dropped John and shook his arm, flinging Joss away. The She Wolf rolled to her side and sprang to her feet. She lunged for the demon again and latched onto his calf. The Horseman grabbed for her but she was too swift for him and easily danced out of his reach, leaving his leg torn and bleeding. Joss's hackles were up and she snarled at the demon, daring it to attack again, drawing it away from her mate.

Before the Horseman could pursue Joss further, a shotgun blast hit him in the chest. John turned to see Abbie advancing, holding the shotgun he'd given her earlier. She nailed the Horseman one more time before he grabbed his sword and mounted his demonic horse. John heard gunshots from another direction and saw Shaw and Fusco emerge from the brush firing their weapons as well. The Horseman put his spurs to his mount and they vanished into the trees.

Joss turned to her mate while Abbie and Shaw hurried to Crane. Joss gently licked John's face and sniffed his ankle. John threaded his fingers through her fur and touched his forehead to hers. "I'm fine, the ankle is just bruised." And then he kissed her between her eyes while she wagged her tail.

John got to his feet while Joss watched with concern. He tested his injured ankle and found that while there was some minor pain it was still sturdy. He limped for his first couple of steps, but quickly resumed a normal stride with minimal pain.

They walked over to Abbie and Crane who was now sitting up and rubbing his head. "How is he?" John asked Abbie.

"Thanks to your extraordinary fighting skill, I am quite fine. I have a small headache, but nothing one of your modern day aspirin won't solve." The Witness looked up at John. "Thank you, Mr. Reese. If you had not been here that would have ended quite badly for me."

Shaw flashed her small light into Ichabod's eye and noted that his pupils were a bit slow to react and turned to Abbie. "He's got a minor concussion, but he'll be fine." Shaw looked up at John. "Do I need to look at that ankle?"

John shook his head. "An ice pack and ace bandage and I'll be fine."

"Now that all the medical situations are taken care of, wait until you see what we found!" Fusco exclaimed.

The group followed Shaw and Fusco to a small clearing a couple hundred yards away. Multiple symbols had been spray painted onto the ground and there were numerous candles burned down to a nub in a circle.

"Well, now we know why the Headless Horseman is here. He's protecting whoever is involved in whatever is going on here," Shaw said. "I'm no expert, but this looks bad. Moloch bad."

Crane began carefully walking around the clearing, examining all the symbols and muttering to himself while Abbie kept a close watch on him.

"Is he acting normally?" Shaw whispered, watching the Witness with concern as he walked around the clearing mumbling to himself.

"As normal as he gets, which isn't very normal," Abbie whispered back.

Finally, Crane stood up and realized he had an audience. "Please accept my apologies. I tend to get very involved in my work."

Reese nodded his understanding. "What do you think this is?" he asked, gesturing towards the clearing.

"I believe this place was used for a ritual that is intended to raise the undead."

Reese's face betrayed no surprise, but Fusco standing next to him, gasped. "You mean like zombies?"

Crane was unfamiliar with the term and glanced at Abbie for help. "Yep, I think that's exactly what he means Lionel," she answered.

"You've seen this before?" Reese asked softly.

Crane gave the Wolf a quick nod. "Yes during the war. General Washington sent Abraham and me behind enemy lines to retrieve a book that appeared to be important to the Hessians. We were able to steal it and make our way back to Washington's headquarters. Before we returned, my curiosity got the better of me and I looked through the book, only to discover that it was a book of spells and rituals. This ritual was among them." Crane paused and his eyes seemed to stare off into nothing. "That was before I believed in magic. I was quite puzzled as to why General Washington would be interested in the book, and I dismissed it as folly and a waste of time."

Crane's voice trailed off, but no one moved or said anything until he shook his head and returned to the topic at hand. "This is a highly complex and lengthy ritual that requires several ritual locations and progresses over several days. If I recall correctly..."

"And you usually do, Mr. Eidetic Memory," Abbie said with an eye roll.

Crane threw his co-Witness a reproachful look. "As I was saying, I recall that it takes five nights in five different locations forming a pentagram to complete the ritual. The person conducting the ritual has to be a comrade in arms of the men being recalled from the dead."

"Where's the book now?" Reese asked.

"By fortuitous coincidence, the book was acquired by the late Sheriff Corbin. It's in a secret drawer in the cabin, I found there several months ago."

"So if you have the book, how is the ritual being conducted now? And who's doing it?" a puzzled Shaw asked.

Crane shrugged. "There might be more than one copy of the book, or the ritual instructions may have been known to multiple persons. The sorcerer who originated the spell may have had an apprentice or apprentices that were taught the ritual. As for who, there is no way of knowing at this time."

"You said that this ritual requires five nights, can you tell which night we're on?" John asked as he looked around. "I would say by the condition of these candles, that the ritual was completed for tonight."

Crane shook his head. "I'll need the book to determine that."

"I thought you had an eidetic memory?" Shaw groused.

Crane looked down his nose at the diminutive operative. "I do, Miss Shaw. But I did not read the entire book. Once I realized what I was reading I put it aside as myths and folk tales."

Abbie pulled out her phone. "I'll call Jenny and ask her to bring us the book in the morning."

"Have her bring Irving too," John requested. "We'll need everyone we can get."

While Abbie was on the phone with her sister, the rest of the team carefully went over the area looking for clues. Fusco bagged the candles so they could be finger printed. Shaw discovered a footprint, but all it told them was that the perpetrator wore a size ten and liked mass-produced Reeboks.

Deciding that they had done all they could do for the night, the team dispersed to their various abodes. They agreed to meet early the next morning, as soon as Fusco got the results from the lab on the fingerprints.

* * *

Joss, still in her Wolf form, led the way into the Bunker, while John, limping slightly, followed his mate. They found Taylor sitting at the kitchen island eating a bowl of cereal while Cali bounced happily in her baby jumper. Seeing his mother in Wolf form and John's limp, Taylor grinned and asked, "Rough night?"

Joss gave a small bark and walked over to Cali, nuzzling her daughter. Cali, who well used to both her parents in their Wolf form, giggled happily as her mother gave her face a gentle lick.

John grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer for his ankle. "Other than having to go one on one with a Headless Horsemen, it was pretty boring," he answered blandly.

Taylor snorted. "I know I'm not supposed to tell my friends about the work you do, but you do realize that even if I did tell them the truth, they would never believe me?"

Joss gave a bark of what sounded like laughter and then headed for the bedroom to change.

"You sure you still want to work the numbers?" John asked Taylor as he wrapped the ice pack in a damp towel.

Taylor's grin only got wider. "You think I'd let a little thing like a Headless Horseman demon-thingy stop me? Naw."

John eased himself into the seat next to Taylor and put his leg up on the next stool. "He's not so little. Even without a head he's at least 6'5"." John laid the ice pack on his ankle. "And strong. Really strong."

John was amused to see that the little furrow that normally formed between Joss's eyebrows when she was upset, confused or concerned now formed between Taylor's. "It's not bad is it?" the teen asked looking on the ice pack resting on John's ankle.

John smiled at the teen he considered his own son. "No, just a bruise. Your mom got him off me before it got serious."

Taylor chuckled. "I shoulda known mom would take care of you."

Over in the baby jumper, Cali sneezed. John turned his head in the direction of the jumper to say "bless you" to his daughter but to his surprise, the seat was empty. He felt something cold and damp press against his foot that was resting on the floor. He looked down to see a small black Wolf cub grinning up at him and wagging her tiny tail.

"Holy shit, John. She morphed!" Taylor exclaimed; his eyes wide as he gaped at his little sister. Cali looked up at her big brother and gave him a cheerful yip.

John reached down and scooped up his cub and placed her on his lap. Cali looked around the room from her lofty perch, obviously pleased with herself.

"God, do you have any idea what all this moisture in the air does to a black girl's hair?" Taylor and John looked over to see Joss emerging from the hallway that led to the bedrooms as she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. She was now wearing flannel drawstring pants and a clingy v-neck pullover top. The corners of John's mouth quirked up and his eyes grew soft and gentle as he watched his mate.

Joss stopped in the middle of the room as she noticed the cub sitting in John's lap. Her eyes cut to the baby jumper and then back to the cub. "Cali?" She gasped. "I thought she wasn't supped to be able to morph for a few more years?"

John shrugged. "Apparently we have a precocious daughter. My mother told me that I first morphed when I wasn't much older than Cali. From what she told me, I chewed a hole in my play pen and crawled under the couch. Mom and dad couldn't find me for an hour."

Joss laughed. "That sounds like you alright. I'll have to call Janelle* and get the story once this case is over. But right now our precocious daughter is falling asleep in your lap."

Cali was indeed swaying a bit and her eyes were slowly closing. John gently stroked his daughter's head. "Morphing wears a girl out, doesn't it sweetheart?" he cooed softly.

In response, Cali yawned widely, curled up and went to sleep. As soon as her eyes closed she returned to human form. Joss carefully picked her up with a fond smile. "I'll be right back," she said and carried Cali to her room.

Joss returned a few minutes later and checked John's injured ankle. "Not a lot of swelling, that's good." She gently prodded the bruised area. "No lollygagging for you tomorrow," she warned before she laid her hands on his cheeks and kissed him.

"Ugh, I think that's my cue to go to bed," Taylor joked, pretending to be grossed out. He got up and rinsed his cereal bowl. "Night."

Joss snuggled up to John's chest and looked over her shoulder at her son. "Night baby, thanks for watching your sister for us tonight."

"No prob. Grandma called and she wants to take Cali tomorrow night."

"Thanks sweetie."

Taylor waved and disappeared down the hall to his room.

As soon as he was out of sight, John grabbed Joss around the waist and pulled her to him. She squeaked in surprise and then giggled. "Aren't you tired after taking on a seven foot Headless Horseman?"

John nuzzled her ear. "Nope."

Joss turned her head and kissed his nose. "Then I think we need to take this to the bedroom."

John stood up and held out his hand to Joss. She slid her arms around his waist and together they walked into their bedroom.

* * *

 ***Janelle was John's unofficial auntie as he was growing up in Washington. We met her in my previous story, Welcome Home Wolf**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Visit to the Alpha**

The next morning, the team reconvened at a diner that was a short walk from the safe house. Shaw and Fusco arrived at the same time as Ichabod and Abbie. Just as they were getting their food, Joss arrived with Cali in tow. "John dropped us off and then went to get Finch," she explained.

As Joss settled Cali into a high chair, Cali sized up the Witnesses. She grinned at Abbie and was rewarded with a wide smile and a cheerful "Hi there sweetie" in return. Cali next turned her attention to Ichabod who gave her a weak smile. Cali's unblinking stare was making him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to being around babies and had no idea what to do in this situation.

However Cali was not ready to give up on the Patriot. She next put her hands over her eyes and peeked around them in an attempt to engage Crane in a game of Peek-A-Boo. Unfortunately, Crane was unfamiliar with the game and simply stared at the child, completely puzzled by her behavior. Fortunately, Joss gave Cali some juice in a sippy cup and she quickly focused her attention on her breakfast; while Crane wondered if all Wolf children were as odd as this one.

Shaw dove into her food with her usual enthusiasm and lack of table manners. While Joss, Abbie, and Crane tried to be polite and pretend they didn't notice Shaw's lack of couth, Fusco watched with dismay as she wolfed down her breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and pancakes.

"Do you have a worm?" Fusco asked Shaw.

"Just you," she shot back.

Fusco was not the least bit bothered. "Careful there, Ms. Bottomless Pit. Someday you're gonna drop dead from the hostility in your system," he teased her. He loved teasing her when she was already pissed off.

Shaw, however, was not amused. "Don't start with me, blobby. I'll show you hostile. I'll kick your ass," she hissed.

Fusco merely snorted. "Oh please, you'd need to stand on a step stool to reach my ass."

The combatants were interrupted when Joss glanced up from her coffee, growling deep and low in her chest. Her eyes shifted from Fusco to Shaw in the unmistakable look of an Alpha asserting her authority. Fusco and Shaw both immediately broke off their argument, though they did continue to glare at each other. Neither one was willing to challenge their Alpha.

Abbie suppressed a giggle and looked away to hide her amused expression. She had known Joss long and well enough, so she wasn't surprised by her friend's ability exert her authority. Even before John had turned her, Joss had always projected a "Don't mess with me" vibe.

Ichabod on the other hand was quite intrigued by Joss's display of Alpha authority. Joss was not nearly as big or imposing as her mate, but she had an air of authority and confidence about her; even as she sat next to him serenely sipping her coffee. She noticed Crane looking at her and the corners of her mouth quirked up, and she winked at him. Crane smiled in return and decided that he would be very foolish indeed to underestimate the petite woman sitting next him. After all, he had once watched her rip the throat out of a demonic Hell Hound twice her size.

Moments later, John and Finch arrived and Cali happily babbled at her daddy and her Uncle Harold. John settled into the seat next to the high chair and took over feeding his daughter from his mate. After greetings and small talk, the conversation turned to the case.

"Jenny and Irving will here in a few hours with the book," Abbie confirmed for the rest of the group.

John growled. "Good, I want to know how much time we have before the Zombie Apocalypse. We need to find out who's doing this and we need to disrupt the ritual tonight. Where is Henry Parrish now?" John asked Abbie while he feed Cali a bit of scrambled egg and wiped her face.

"Jenny checked before she left town and she says he's still in Sleepy Hollow, so we probably won't have to deal with the second Horseman tonight."

John nodded. "Good, one Horseman is bad enough. What else can you tell us about Headless? You already mentioned that gunshots slow him down and daylight is his big weakness."

"I did notice one thing last night, Mr. Reese," Crane interjected. "He does seem to be vulnerable to Wolves. Detective Carter in her Wolf form was very effective against him. I would urge the Wolf People to assume their alternative forms tonight."

"One problem with that, Icky," Shaw said as she finally looked up from her food, a smear of egg yolk on her chin. "Tonight isn't a full moon, and only Joss and John can change at will. Fusco and I can't morph for another week."

Crane blinked. "I had not thought about that. Are there other Wolves you know that are trustworthy who can change at will?"

"Bill Cross," John said without hesitation. "He's a good man, and I know he can change at will."

Joss frowned. "Bill's not a young Wolf, John. He retired and turned the Harlem pack leadership over to Zack. Are you sure he's up to going head to head with the Horseman of Death? Shouldn't we ask Chris Galecki or Yitshak Cohen instead?"

John shook his head. "I don't know either one of them well enough to trust them with The Witnesses' secret. Bill's a Born Alpha and we know we can trust him. He'll want to help."

Joss shook her head. "Bess is going to skin you alive for this."

John gave his mate a smirk. "That's why you're going with me when I talk to him. I'll need some backup."

Joss rolled her eyes and stood up. "We'd better get this over with then. Harold, can you take Cali to the safe house for me?"

Harold nodded. "Of course Jocelyn. I even have a couple of new books to read to her!" Cali giggled at the word 'books'. With Harold as her godfather, she knew that word very well.

John stood and held his hand out to his mate. "Let's go."

* * *

John and Joss arrived at the Cross's apartment building a short while later. "What are we going to tell them?" Joss asked as they climbed the stairs to the third floor apartment.

"The truth," John answered simply. "If Bill is going to risk his neck he deserves nothing less. Wolves have our own stories and legends about the Apocalypse. He'll know how important this is."

They received their usual warm greeting from the retired Alphas upon their arrival. "So John, Joss, what brings you here? One of your cases?" Bill asked once everyone was settled with coffee in the Cross's comfortable living room.

"What do you know about the Apocalypse?" John asked.

Bill put his coffee down and his face took on a serious expression. "I know that's some seriously bad stuff. I'm sure you know the stories the Old Ones tell as well I do John. The Four Horsemen will rise and walk the Earth, causing war and famine. Demons will find their way out of purgatory to destroy and kill. If the good are not vigilant and brave, all is lost. The usual 'supernatural loses its shit' stuff."

John looked Bill straight in the eye. "They're more than just stories. Joss and I have seen and fought demons and witches. The Horseman of Death is here in New York, and he's already killed one man."

Bess gasped. "The stories say there should be Witnesses. Are they here too?"

John nodded. "Yes. And they need our help."

"What do you need from us John?" Bill asked quietly. His dark brown eyes were intense as he leaned forward.

"We've discovered the Horseman of Death is vulnerable to us in our Wolf form. We have to stop him tonight, someone is trying to raise a zombie army and we have to help the Witnesses prevent it..."

"…and you want Bill to transform and help you tonight," Bess finished for him. John nodded solemnly. "No," she said firmly.

"Bess…" Bill began in a warning tone of voice.

"No," Bess repeated firmly. "You _fool_ ; you're too old for this. You're retired. You can't fight a Horseman of the Apocalypse!"

Bill sighed and ran his hands over his face. "Bess, my love, I have to do this. I have to protect my family, my pack and my city. My obligations to my pack didn't end at retirement. You know that as well as I do."

Bess didn't say anything; she just turned her head and looked out the window, her face pensive.

Bill continued to cajole his mate. He leaned forward in his seat towards her and his voice dropped to a near whisper. "Honey, you've grown up hearing the stories. You told the stories to Zack when he was a cub. Zack and Shakura are expecting our first grand baby. You know we have to do everything in our power to stop the Apocalypse. For them. For the pack."

Joss could feel Bess's fear and uncertainty through her Wolf sense and she questioned whether or not she and John where doing the right thing by asking the old Alpha to put himself in danger. He and Bess had been together for over forty years. They had a strong bond and Bess would be bereft if anything happened to him.

Bess didn't say anything; she continued to stare out the window without moving. Joss held her breath as she waited for the She Wolf to respond to her mate's words. Finally, Bess turned her head back to her mate.

"You old fool. You're right, I know that," she said softly, her voice choking. "I know I couldn't stop you anyway. We have to protect our pack and our family." She glared at him as if challenging him. "But I'll be going with you tonight."

Bill face broke out into the dazzling smile Joss had seen so often before. "Of course baby. I wouldn't face the Apocalypse without you!"

"We'll take good care of him Bess," Joss said, hoping to reassure her friend.

Bess grinned and rolled her yes. "Good luck with that Joss. You won't be to keep this old fool out of trouble any more than you do your own mate."

"Wait, how do you know…?" Joss gasped.

Bess laughed. "Desi Zamora, the admitting clerk at the Wolf Clinic is in our pack. We hear all about how you two keep the clinic in business."

Joss had to laugh; there was no gossip like an old Wolf.

John and Joss stood and took their leave from the Crosses after inviting them to dinner at the safe house that night for a planning session before they took on the Horseman.

As they were climbing in their car to return to the safe house Joss's phone rang. Seeing it was Fusco, she put it on speaker so John could hear too. "You're on speaker Fusco, what's up?"

"Youse guys on the way back yet? I got the fingerprint results back from the candles at the ritual site."

"Yeah, we're on our way now. Whose finger prints were on those candles?" Joss asked as John started the car and pulled away from the curb.

"I think we had better talk about this in person," Fusco said and hung up before Joss could say anything further.

John and Joss looked at each other with puzzled expressions. "What got into him?" Joss asked, baffled by her friend's odd behavior.

John looked grim. He was used to Fusco giving him attitude, quite frankly it was an integral part of their relationship, but this was the first time the pudgy detective had hung up on Joss. This was a very bad sign. "Let's get back and find out," he growled as he threw the car into gear and nosed it out in to traffic.


	5. Chapter 5

**What Fusco Found**

Joss and John walked in the safe house not long after leaving the Cross's. Jenny Mills and Frank Irving had arrived and were seated at the large dining table with Crane looking through an old tome that John could only assume was the ritual book. John nodded to them in greeting, but Joss had a laser focus on her partner. Her Wolf sense felt Fusco's apprehension and she wanted answers.

"Ok Fusco, what did you find?" Joss asked. Her voice plainly told everyone listening that she was in no mood for any shenanigans from her partner.

Fusco, who had been staring out the window turned slowly, not wanting to tell Joss what he had just discovered. John saw Lionel's unhappy face and he paused and raised an eyebrow at his pack mate. Lionel refused to meet his eyes and John braced himself for what was about to come.

"Joss, what do you know about an officer named Eddie O'Reilly out of the 12th precinct?" Fusco asked.

Joss furrowed her brows and thought for a few seconds, then shook her head. "The name isn't ringing any bells."

Fusco made a sour face. "Of course it wouldn't. He was too small time to show up on your radar."

"My radar? Fusco, who is he?" she asked slowly, almost afraid to hear his answer.

Fusco took a deep breath. "He was part of HR."

Joss stared at Fusco for several seconds, her mouth open and her eyes wide. Fusco gave her a tiny little nod to let her know he was serious. "Oh," she said so softly that even John, who was standing right behind her, almost missed it. She sat down heavily in the nearest chair and closed her eyes.

Crane looked around the somber room. He had no idea what this HR thing was, but he knew if it upset Detective Carter this much, it had to be _bad_. He leaned over to Abbie and careful to keep his voice low, whispered, "What is HR?"

However, Crane had not counted on Wolf hearing. "They were a bunch of low life dirty cops," Shaw spat. "They threatened Taylor. Joss took them down almost single handedly and caught a bullet in the chest for her trouble."

"Joss and John almost died when they were ambushed by one of their top guys," Abbie explained. "But I thought FBI had arrested them all?" Abbie looked to Fusco for confirmation.

Fusco shook his head. "Most of them were rounded up, but there were a few low level scumbags who slipped through the net 'cause they were so low on the totem pole there wasn't any evidence against them. They've been keeping a low profile though, being good little boys. Until now."

"He's trying to resurrect HR. I can't believe it!" Joss snarled from her seat.

Jenny looking on from her seat at the dining table piped up. "It gets worse. Not only is he resurrecting HR, he's resurrecting its allies too. Crane and I have been looking over this book; the ritual also applies to all allies, not just the members of the target organization."

"Peachy, they were allied with the Russian mob, so we get a 2 for 1," Fusco growled.

"I heard about that," Irving said. "Both organizations were quite, um, bloody, so there are an awful lot of bodies to resurrect."

"Then we'd better stop the ritual," John said in his matter of fact way as he gently placed a hand on Joss's shoulder.

"Easier said than done, Mr. Reese," Crane said. "Based on what Miss Mills and I have seen in this book and the symbols left at last night's site, tonight is the last night of the ritual."

"Tell me about it," John demanded with the quiet authority of an Alpha.

"As you already know, it takes place over five nights and in five different locations. The five locations should form a pentagram. The center of the pentagram is where the undead rise from the earth at the completion of the ritual. It doesn't matter where the members of the organization and their allies are actually buried, they claw their way out of the earth in the center of that pentagram. Once they rise, they are bound to obey the summoner."

"So whoever performs the ritual has a Night of the Living Dead army at their beck and call," grumbled Shaw.

"And, since the Headless Horseman is here protecting whoever is summoning the undead, I think we can assume that they've pledged their army to Moloch in exchange for the usual riches and power, blah, blah, blah," Jenny said slamming the book closed with a dramatic thud.

Everyone in the room went quiet as they considered the implications of that statement. HR and the Russian mob had high body counts; that was a _lot_ of zombies. And they would all be taking commands from Moloch.

* * *

The afternoon was spent in an intense planning session studying a topological map of the park to determine likely locations for the night's ritual. The Crosses arrived in the late afternoon and joined in the planning session.

John prowled the room while the others argued over likely locations. He was a man of action, and all this arguing was wearing on his nerves. He was no fool; he understood the need the need to plan. But strategic thinking was not his forte, so he left that to his mate and his employer. He was always restless before going into battle, and he had no doubt tonight would be a fight.

He paused and looked around the room. Shaw, who was even less of a strategic thinker than John, had curled up next to Fusco on the couch, placed her head in his lap and fallen asleep. Fusco, though he was active in the planning session, was careful not to move enough to wake his sleeping pack-mate.

Finch, Joss, Irving, the Crosses, and the Mills sisters were gathered around the large screen TV where Finch projected a map of the park from his laptop. They were discussing‒more like arguing over‒ the merits of various sites around the park for the ritual and the best strategy for finding the right location.

John noticed Crane was holding himself apart from the others and he too was getting restless. Crane, despite his aristocratic upbringing, was also a soldier and John could see he was becoming anxious to get on with it as well. He caught Crane's eye and gave the patriot a nod. Crane inclined his head in a small gesture of understanding. At least John was not alone.

At dinner time, the group decided to remain at the safe house. The consensus was that they could not continue their discussion in public where they might be overheard. Finch placed a takeout order with one of their favorite diners, and John and Crane volunteered to go pick up the food. Both men felt the need to get out and walk off some of their restlessness; despite the large size of the safe house living room, it simply wasn't big enough for the men's pacing.

The Wolf and the Patriot walked along in compatible silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until John suddenly stopped and swore. Crane looked up to see three young black males being patted down by a uniformed police officer. As Crane looked closer, he realized that he had seen one of the young men before in a picture Abbie had shown him of Detective Carter and John Reese's family. It was Detective Carter's son from her first marriage.

Crane was puzzled. Abbie had told him that Taylor Carter was an exemplary young man who had earned a full scholarship to a prestigious school and would be starting university in the fall. Why would a law enforcement officer be questioning the son of one of their own?

John walked over to the group, his face grim. Crane followed behind the Alpha Wolf still trying to figure why the police would be interested in young Mr. Carter.

"Is there a problem here Officer?" John asked, his eyes cold and hard.

The officer, a rather short, pudgy guy whose name tag identified him as Kowalski, straightened up from frisking Taylor and sneered at the Alpha. "Not unless you want there to be a problem," he snarled and puffed out his chest. "I have every right to question these punks. Who the fuck are you?"

John glared at the little creep before him who was obviously enjoying throwing his considerable weight around. But before John could open his mouth, Crane spoke up. "Excuse me, Constable, may I ask what you mean by you have every right to question these young men?"

Kowalski focused his attention on the Witness, his sneer still firmly intact. "Well Harry Potter, in New York we have something called Stop and Frisk. This means I get to stop and question punks like these who are in neighborhoods where they don't belong. It's based on your own English law, buddy."

Crane looked even more surprised by that. "Pray tell, how do you know these young men do not belong here? Are you familiar with them?"

"Just look at them," Officer Kowalski snapped. "Do they _look_ like they belong here?"

Crane took a minute to look at the teens, then at the officer, and back at the teens. Everyone could see the comprehension dawn on him once he understood the reason why the officer had decided the black teens did not belong in the upscale neighborhood. There was a flash of anger in his eyes.

Crane raised an eyebrow in his aristocratic manner as he glared down his nose at the officer. "I did not die on the field of battle so that future generations of America would be subject to such oppressive English laws, Officer. I fought specifically to divest the colonies of such tyranny. The entire American Revolution was based on preventing incidents such as this. They were not acceptable then and they are even less acceptable now. Have you not learned a thing in over 250 years? The fact that you seem to have taken on some the worst of the English legal system is nothing to be proud of!

"And for the record, I am NOT your buddy, nor would I ever deign to be associated with a petty tyrant such as yourself! Do not ever refer to me in such terms again."

The teenagers stared at Crane with eyes wide. Officer Kowalski's mouth flopped open at Crane's tirade. John struggled to keep from laughing out loud. He knew he had to defuse the situation before things escalated and he had to explain to Abbie why they were bailing her co-Witness out of jail.

Kowalski took a step in Crane's direction, but John hastily stepped in front. "Before this incident gets any worse, I suggest you ask that kid there," he indicated Taylor with a nod of his head, "just who his mother is."

Kowalski looked John up and down for the first time. He noted the expensive, well-tailored suit and John's military bearing. Suddenly, the cop got a very bad feeling about this, but he wasn't out of false bravado yet. "OK, I'll play along before I call for back up and arrest all your asses." He turned to Taylor. "OK asshole, who's your mama and which street corner does she hang out on?"

John growled at the man for implying that Joss was a hooker, but Taylor, to his credit, kept his face perfectly bland as he replied, "Detective Jocelyn Carter, Homicide Task Force, Eighth Precinct. I believe that's the corner of Clarkson and 10th Avenue."

Officer Kowalski's mouth flopped open once again. He looked over at John for confirmation and John merely smirked in response. "You what Detective Carter does to cops she doesn't like," he said cheerfully.

Kowalski closed his eyes. "Fuck," he snarled.

"I take it the boys are free to go now?' John asked with exaggerated politeness.

Kowalski nodded, his face clearly indicating that he knew he was well and truly screwed. The officer turned and walked away without another word.

John, Crane, and the teens watched him leave in silence. As the policeman turned the corner, the teens burst into laughter. John silenced them with a stern look.

"Does that happen often?" he asked quietly.

Taylor shrugged nonchalantly. "Every now and then. You get used to it. Mom taught me what to do in these situations."

"Why didn't you tell us?" John folded his arms and glared at his step-son.

Taylor shrugged again. "I can't go running to mama every time, John. You and mom have more important things to do than come running every time one of these jerks gets a hard-on for me. I know how to deal."

John sighed and ran his hands through his hair, causing his cowlick to stand up. "Taylor, nothing is more important to your mother and me than you and your sister. From now on when this happens you get the name and badge number and tell us about it. Understood?"

Taylor rolled his eyes, but he nodded. "Got it."

"Thanks for getting that guy off our butts, Mr. R," one of the other teens said.

John nodded. "You're welcome Danté," he replied. "Now what were you guys doing here?"

"Richie Zhang is having a birthday party; pizza and movies at his dad's place. We were just on our way there when we ran into Officer Douchebag," Taylor explained. Seeing John's raised eyebrow, the teen rolled his eyes. "Before you ask, yes Mom knows and she said it's OK. Grandma has Cali."

John grinned at his step-son. "OK get going, but be home by curfew."

"Yes dad," Taylor sighed while his friends sniggered. "See you later." The boys trotted off down the street.

John turned to Crane to see that the Witness was still upset over the incident. "Thanks for your help," John said sincerely.

Crane harrumphed. "You're quite welcome, but I doubt I was of much assistance. Since I started working with Lt. Mills, racism has become what she would call a 'hot button' of mine. I had hoped that there would have been more progress on this issue since my time."

John watched Taylor and his friends vanish down the street with his friends. "I feel the same way," he said softly. He turned to Witness. "Now let's get that food before Shaw starts gnawing on the furniture."


	6. Chapter 6

**Zombie Apocolypse**

The group of Witnesses and Wolves arrived at the park just before dark and gathered around John for instructions. "You have your assigned partners and your assigned search areas. Joss, Bill, and I will keep the Headless Horseman busy while the rest of you will have to find the last location and stop the ritual."

"What do we do if we can't stop it in time?" Fusco asked.

"Then you better be ready for the Zombie Apocalypse," John answered grimly before the group split up.

John, Joss and Bill ducked into the bushes to change out of their clothes and morph, while the rest of the group split up into pairs to begin searching for the last ritual site. John bounded out of the bushes followed closely by his mate. Bill Cross, in his alternate form of a large gray Wolf, emerged from another clump of bushes right after that. The Wolves immediately began sniffing the air to determine if the Horseman was anywhere nearby. They didn't smell anything unusual and with a jerk of his head, John indicated to Joss and Bill they should follow him.

John led Joss and Bill to the spot where they had battled the Headless Horseman the previous night, hoping they could follow his trail from there. Bill's nose wrinkled in distaste and his hackles stood up as he got his first whiff of the Horseman's distinctive scent. As a former fireman, the old Wolf had smelled death and decay before, but he had never smelled evil. John looked at him questioningly, but Bill gave him a tight nod to let John know he was okay to continue. The smell only made the old Alpha more determined to protect his family and pack. Such evil would not be allowed near his wife, son, or pregnant daughter-in-law as long as Bill Cross drew breath.

The wolves began circling trying to pick up a fresh scent of the demon, while using their Wolf hearing to track their friends as they hunted for the last ritual site.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the cars near the park entrance, Finch and Bess Cross waited with Bear for protection. Finch had two laptops set up on the hood of his car where he monitored the park security cameras as best as he could. Again, he was having trouble seeing anything since the cameras were old, poorly maintained, and couldn't penetrate the dark. He had modified his facial recognition software to recognize the distinct form of the Headless Horseman, and he was frantically trying to lighten up the feed so the recognition software could work.

He was so wrapped up in his task that he didn't notice Bess slip away into the shadows.

* * *

Abbie and Ichabod were paired together, Fusco had paired up with Jenny, and Shaw had gone with Irving. They fanned out from the location of last night's ritual, looking for any other sites that would help pin point the last site. After searching for a while, they had found two more used places. They now had 3 points of the pentagram, and they gathered back at the car to compare notes.

They watched closely as Finch plotted the three known ritual sites on a map of the park. It quickly became obvious where the other two sites were, so the teams once again spilt up and headed out.

* * *

John's ears picked up the faint sounds of hoof beats. He snapped to attention with his nose pointing towards the direction of the sound. Joss and Bill heard it too and they stopped to listen as well. The three looked at each other, nodded, and melted into the dark shadows of trees that lined the path.

The Horseman trotted down the path straight into the Wolves ambush. John leapt from his hiding place, knocking the Horseman from his demonic steed. Joss and Bill raced in, Joss lunged for the Horseman as he flailed on the ground while Bill chased the horse away.

* * *

Shaw and Irving carefully approached the area where one of the two unknown sites should be. It was slow going; the area was well overgrown and heavily carpeted with leaves. After several minutes of quiet searching they found the site, but it was obviously from several nights ago. The wind had partially erased the symbols painted on the ground and the candles were burned down to nubs.

Shaw tapped her earpiece. "Finch, Fusco, we found a site, but it's used. Irving and I are headed to Fusco's location."

"We haven't found anything yet, short stuff and we could sure use your help," Fusco replied.

"Don't call me short," Shaw snapped and cut the connection.

* * *

The Headless Horseman flung Joss off and leaped to his feet with surprising agility for one so large. John jumped on him, knocking him back several steps. The Horseman reached for his sword, but Joss had recovered from her tumble and was on him again, sinking her teeth into his arm to prevent the demon from drawing his weapon. The Horseman struck out at the Wolves with his fists but as fast as he was, they were faster.

Bill continued to harass the Horseman's horse trying to keep it away from its rider. The panicked animal circled, trying to kick the Wolf but Bill was too nimble, despite his age. As they danced around, the demonic mount finally was able to graze the old Alpha with a hoof, knocking him to the ground. This gave the Horseman the opening he needed to mount his horse and gallop away.

Joss and Bill started to follow, but John stopped them with a growl. They looked at him in surprise; he jerked his head the direction where the rest of the team was searching for the last ritual site. They nodded their understanding and followed him. With the Headless Horseman temporarily out of the way, it was time to check on their friends.

* * *

Fusco kicked at a tree angrily and swore.

Shaw looked at him with an amused smile on her face. "What did the tree ever do to you, pudgy?"

"It's here and I'm mad," he snapped. "We've been searching for long time; we know the damn ritual has to be taking place in this area, why can't we find it?" He kicked the tree again for good measure.

Crane frowned. "The detective raises a good point, why haven't we found the site yet? This area is not large and there are six of us searching, we should have found it by now."

Abbie paused thoughtfully. "Think about it, Crane. This is a public park. Even with Tall, Dark, and Headless out there protecting you, wouldn't you want some sort of privacy spell?"

Crane blinked at this co-Witness for a second. "I do believe you are right, Lieutenant."

"So how does one lift a privacy spell?" Shaw asked as she tapped her watch. "We're running out of time here, people. Make with the Gandalf."

Crane sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose like Shaw had given him a headache. Come to think of it, Fusco mused to himself, Shaw had that effect on a lot of people. "In order to lift a privacy spell, Miss Shaw, one must cast the appropriate counter spell. However, since we don't know the privacy spell used, it will be difficult to determine the correct counter."

"There's no general counter spell?" Shaw asked.

"None that I am aware of, Miss Shaw. I wish my wife Katrina was here. She would have been useful."

"Oh I doubt that," Jenny snapped irritably.

"Jenny…" Abbie started to chide her sister, but was interrupted by her co-Witness who had obviously not heard Jenny's comment.

"Of course there is more than one way to break a privacy spell," Crane said thoughtfully as he stared at Shaw and Fusco. "Privacy spells are aimed at human beings, they mean to confuse the senses of sight and sound, the ones that humans tend to rely on the most. Most of them don't cover scent, a sense humans are somewhat deficient in."

Abbie looked at Shaw and Fusco with a smile. "But not Wolves," she finished Crane's thought for him. She looked at Shaw and asked, "How good are your senses in human form?"

Shaw grinned. "Not as good as they are in Wolf form, but still better than non-Wolves'. Everyone be quiet for a few moments and let Lionel 'n' me work."

Shaw and Fusco both held still while they closed their eyes and focused on their sense of smell. The rest of the group was absolutely quiet. The two Wolves slowly turned, sniffing the air when they both suddenly stopped pointing the same direction and opened their eyes.

"Do you smell that too?" Lionel asked.

Shaw nodded, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Using cheap gardenia scented candles for a ritual? Tacky."

"For ritual purposes, the scent or expense of a candle doesn't matter," Crane primly retorted. "Please lead on."

Shaw and Fusco led the others a short distance away. As they got closer, the rest of the group could smell the artificial sickeningly sweet gardenia scent that Shaw and Fusco had detected earlier. Jenny wrinkled her nose at the cloying scent. "Good lord, did they buy their ritual candles at the dollar store?"

With a growl Shaw lunged through the bushes and emerged into a small clearing where a hooded, robed figure was walking in a circle around symbols spray painted onto the ground. Shaw leaped for the figure and tackled him to the ground. The rest of the team began kicking at the runes to erase them and blew out the candles.

"You're too late, the ritual was all but complete!" shrieked the man as he continued to struggle with Shaw.

Fusco walked over and punched the man hard across the jaw. "Shut up Eddie, your little Zombie Apocalypse is over!" he snarled. "No wonder you never went anywhere in HR, you're too damn stupid."

"Stupid? ME?" Eddie's laugh had a slightly hysterical edge to it. "I'm going to rule New York!"

"Ask your old buddy Quinn how well that works," Fusco replied as he cuffed the wannabe Zombie Master and the team exited the bushes, only to see a zombie shambling towards them.

"Shit!" Shaw yelled when she saw who was ambling towards them in zombie form. "Is that SIMMONS?"

Fusco eyes opened wide in horror at the creature shuffling towards them. Simmons was ghostly white and his skin seemed to have shrunk on his bones. His hard blue eyes were unblinking and his lips had retracted from his teeth giving him a ghoulish grin. The marks from Scarface's garrote were plainly visible around his neck, standing out in stark red against his blue/white skin.

"Damn, I thought he was ugly when he was alive," Fusco snarled as he drew his sidearm and took aim.

Shaw smirked at him. "Don't worry, Lionel. Zombies eat brains, you're safe. Now Icky, on the other hand, might have a problem."

Ichabod strode forward drawing his sword. "I take it that you once knew this…this…creature?"

Fusco snorted. "Yeah, and his attitude wasn't any better when he as alive. That guy shot both John and Joss, damn near killing them both."

Crane hefted his sword. "In order to kill the undead, one must cut off the head or destroy the brain in some fashion." Crane turned and offered his sword to Fusco. "Since this creature caused you so much pain alive, I think it's only fitting that you be the one to kill him a second time."

Fusco took the sword with a smile. "Thanks, Crane."

Crane merely bowed and stepped aside. With a smile, Fusco charged to the remains of Simmons and swung the sword in a large sweeping arc, neatly separating Simmons's head from the rest of him. The ex-HR lieutenant fell to the ground. There was a faint rumbling sound and the earth swallowed the body back up.

"The body has been returned to its grave," Crane said. "Simmons will never walk the earth again."

Fusco trotted back to the group with a huge grin on his face. "That felt good!" he crowed with delight as he returned the sword to its rightful owner.

"Don't get too full of yourself there porky. Look," Shaw pointed behind him.

Fusco turned to see large number of zombies shambling towards them. "Oh, hell," he snapped. "The little shit must have managed to raise every dead guy ever associated with HR in the last few years."

Abbie drew her sidearm, but Crane swiftly stepped in front of his co-Witness. "Stay behind me, Miss Mills. I don't think bullets will be enough to fell these unholy creatures."

With a snort Jenny dropped the duffle bag she was carrying on the ground. The bag made the distinct metallic clanking sound, like metal on metal. She unzipped it to reveal a stash of swords and machetes. "I always come prepared," she said cheerfully. "I should have been a Girl Scout. When Abbie called me and said we thought we might be dealing with zombies, I figured these might come in handy. No need to be gallant, Crane."

"That's my sister!" Abbie chirped giving Jenny a fist bump. She replaced her gun in its holster and grabbed a wicked looking scimitar. Shaw snagged a falchion, and Fusco and Irving grabbed cutlasses; all of which Jenny had honed to dangerously sharp edges.

"But I like being gallant," Crane whined as he followed the rest of the group into battle.

* * *

John, Joss, and Bill arrived in time to see the rest of the group charge into battle with the undead army. Without hesitation they flung themselves into the fight along with the rest of the group. Joss and John lost track of time as they ripped body parts off zombies.

John and Joss heard a shrill whinny and both turned to look. The next minute played in slow motion in front of their eyes. They saw the Headless Horseman appear at the edge of the lawn area where they had been battling the undead. They saw Bill, who was the only team member on that side of the lawn, race to intercept the Horseman and they saw the Horseman's mount kick at the Alpha. They could see Bill, tired from a night of battling the Horseman and the walking dead, was unable to dodge the blow; with a yelp of pain, he went down. They could see the Headless Horseman dismount and draw his sword as Ben Cross lay helpless on the ground, one of his forelegs broken.

 _NONONONO! We won't make it in time!_ Joss thought in desperation as she and John raced for the demon, dodging the last few remaining undead.

Bess Cross stepped from the shadows and Joss realized she was holding a pump shotgun, and holding it like she knew how to use it. The Horseman ignored her and raised his sword to run Ben through. At the same time Bess raised her weapon and fired.

The full force of the blast hit the Horseman square in the chest, knocking him back a couple of steps.

Bess took a step forward and pumped the gun, her face a mixture of cold fury and grim determination. She fired the weapon again, once again hitting the Horseman squarely in the chest and knocking him a few more steps away from Ben.

"Not..." Pump, shoot. "My…" Pump, shoot. "MAN!" she screamed at the unholy creature in front of her as her shotgun found its mark three more times. Each shot knocked the demon back several feet as Bess advanced forward.

The Headless Horseman paused after the last shot, seeming to assess the situation. Bess was now standing between him and Ben with her shotgun at the ready. He turned and he could see the Wolves bearing down on him. The Horseman turned back to Bess, raised his sword in salute; then turned and ran off into the trees.

John and Joss skidded to a stop a few feet from Ben as Bess turned and dropped to her knees next to her mate. "You old fool," she whispered tenderly to him as he licked her face.

Shaw hurried over and squatted down next to Ben, her hands gentle as she examined him. "His front leg, uh, arm is broken, but it's a clean break and it'll heal up quick." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Ben was not seriously injured. Shaw patted Ben's side. "It's safe to change back to human." Shaw turned to Bess. "We'll wait for you by the cars."

The rest of the team withdrew back to the cars to allow Ben privacy to morph and dress. A short time later Bess and Ben, holding his broken arm to his body, appeared.

Crane stepped forward. "Mrs. Cross may I express my admiration for your courage in facing the Horseman of Death?"

Bess smiled up at the Witness. "Never mess with a black woman with a gun, honey," she chirped hefting her shotgun.

"I shall endeavor to keep that in mind Mrs. Cross," Crane said with smile and he bowed to her with a courtly flourish.

Bess laughed. "I like him," she said to Abbie. "You hang onto this one."

Abbie blinked in shock, and then decided now was not the time to explain her co-Witness's complicated martial situation to the She Wolf. "Um, yeah, I will," she said slowly.

Finch opened the back door of the Lincoln, the Crosses climbed in, and they drove off; heading for the Wolf Clinic.

"That was awesome," Shaw declared. "When I grow up, I want to be like her."

Fusco grinned. "Bad news, Shortcake. You ain't never growing up; you're always going to be that short."

Shaw turned to glare at him, but was distracted by a smear of something‒she shuttered to think what‒on his chest. "What's that on your shirt?" Shaw asked as she brushed some bit of rotting flesh off Fusco.

"I think it's Tierney," the detective replied with a shrug.

Shaw wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

"You think he was bad dead, you should have met him in life. He's the pig that threatened Taylor," Fusco replied with a smirk. "Felt real good to chop that bastard's head off for Joss."

Shaw nodded. "I know the feeling. I got to kill the guy that tried to kill Lee again."

"Aw man you should have saved him for me!" Fusco groaned.

It was Shaw's turn to shrug. "Sorry, no time. I think he recognized me, he tried to strangle me. Besides, you got Simmons."

Irving wiped some gore off his jacket with a sigh. "Another day, another dry cleaning bill," he said sounding somewhat resigned.

Jenny stared at him, an incredulous look on her face. "We just prevented a zombie apocalypse and you're worried about your dry cleaning bill? Really?"

Irving shrugged and looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes. "It's turning into one of my major expenses. That and ammo."

Over to one side Ichabod was using his handkerchief to gently wipe some gore off Abbie's face. He used his finger under her chin to tilt her face up and carefully wiped her cheek free of blood and flesh. "Are you uninjured, lieutenant?" he asked.

Abbie laid a hand on his wrist and smiled up at up him. "I'm fine Crane, thank you."

They stood there for a minute just looking at each other; then Crane realized what he was doing and straightened awkwardly. "Well, glad to hear it then."

Abbie just smiled again.

Joss's cell phone chirped and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Oh crap, it's my mom!" she exclaimed as she checked the caller ID. "Hello mom? Is something wrong?"

"Why yes dear there is," Joss's mother Alice replied sweetly. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME CALI CAN CHANGE INTO A WOLF? How am I supposed to explain to my friends that my _granddaughter_ is the one who chewed up my couch? Other grandmothers do not have these problems, Jocelyn Maria Carter Reese!" There was a click as Alice hung up.

John slipped an arm around his mate. "Couch shopping this weekend?" he said with a smirk.

Joss laughed, "I hated that damn couch anyway. Mom's had it since I was in high school."


	7. Chapter 7

**We have reached the end of The Wolf and the Headless Horseman. I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed, it's such a pleasure to write for you!**

* * *

 **Pay Back and Goodbye**

The next morning, the Witnesses appeared at the Carter/Reese residence, known as "the Bunker" for its high security measures, for brunch.

Abbie and Ichabod seated themselves at the kitchen island while Joss and John prepared the meal. Abbie and Joss chatted amiably about various topics of interest to women of color in law enforcement, while Abbie bounced Cali on her knee. Ichabod simply sat quietly and watched the Wolves cook.

Truthfully, the relationship between the two Alphas had been of great interest to him since he had first met them. The trust and intimacy between them seemed so effortless that the Witness was truly amazed. John and Joss moved easily around each other as they completed their different tasks. They seemed aware of each other's every movement and their Mating Bond allowed them to communicate on a level that Ichabod couldn't even begin to comprehend.

This bothered Ichabod because he knew that he and his wife had never even come close to achieving such an understanding of each other. Admittedly, he and Katrina had been married for only a short while before he had died in battle. But given all of Katrina's lies of omission and her insistence on staying with Abraham, even if it was for the greater good, Ichabod despaired of ever being able to trust and rely on her the way the Wolves trusted and relied on each other. He yearned for more from his marriage.

However, Ichabod did know someone he could trust and rely on. He snuck a look at Abbie as she sat next to him, remembering how good it felt to hold her in his arms after she had been attacked by the Hell Hound last time they had teamed with the Wolves. She had fit against him perfectly, like she belonged there...

Not liking the turn his thoughts had taken, he firmly pushed them out of his head. Or he at least tried to push those thoughts out of his head, but they wouldn't go. He kept thinking of how Abbie had put her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder.

Cali looked over at Ichabod from her perch in Abbie's lap and caught Ichabod sneaking glances at Abbie. Cali stared for minute as if she was sizing up the patriot and then raised her arms to him, asking him to take her. Ichabod raised an eyebrow at the child, but she only continued to hold out her arms to him and made a very unladylike a grunt of impatience. Ichabod rolled his eyes and then uncomfortably took the child into his lap. She giggled and began playing with his long hair.

Joss paused in slicing up the fruit salad and smirked at him. "She likes you. She normally doesn't like strangers." Ichabod managed a weak smile in response. He was not used to children and he would have been more comfortable taking on Moloch with only a pocket knife than he was holding the little girl.

He was feeling very put upon until he looked over at his co-Witness and found her leaning on her arm against the counter as she watched him hold the baby, a soft smile on her face. Ichabod shifted in his seat and then smiled back at her, wondering why the sight of him with a baby in his arms would make her look at him like that.

He bounced Cali on his knee like he had seen Abbie do with the baby earlier. The baby giggled happily and everything was going much better than Ichabod had a right to hope for, given his inexperience with babies. Then Cali went and ruined it by sneezing. Well it wasn't the sneeze so much as the fact that she changed into a Wolf cub when she sneezed. Ichabod was so surprised he nearly dropped her.

Joss and John looked up at Cali's yip. Joss grinned at the sight of Ichabod Crane in his 1776 garb holding a black Wolf puppy wearing a diaper and a lacy dress on his lap with a rather horrified expression on his face.

Ichabod swallowed hard. "Does Young Miss Reese do this often?" he asked weakly.

John kept his face an unreadable mask. "Every time she sneezes," he deadpanned.

Ichabod looked even more horrified. "Does she ever, um, get stuck?"

John shrugged. "She'll sneeze again and change back, or change back when she takes a nap."

As if on cue, Cali sneezed again, returning to human form. She looked up at Crane and giggled as if she had pulled one over on the patriot. Crane gave her a little half smile and she giggled again, and then she sneezed back to a Wolf, causing Crane to jump. Crane heard Abbie snort with laughter and his heart sank as he realized he was not impressing his co-Witness with his skills at babysitting. He was saved from further humiliation by the arrival of breakfast; he never thought he would be so grateful for pancakes

After breakfast had been eaten and the dishes cleaned up, Joss and Abbie left the apartment for some shopping. Abbie didn't often get a chance to shop in New York and she refused to leave the city unless she had at least one new pair of shoes. John and Ichabod both wisely decided to remain at the Bunker and let the ladies have their girl time.

John settled Cali in her fenced off play area in the living room that was covered with toys. Cali happily settled down with some electronic toy that lit up and made loud obnoxious sounds. John shrugged, "Gift from Finch."

Crane nodded sagely. He could see the computer genius gifting the child with such a fiendish device.

"Coffee?" John asked.

"That would nice, thank you," Crane said formally.

John went to into the kitchen and returned with two coffee mugs, handing one to Crane. Crane took a sip as John looked at him expectantly. John cocked his head to one side as he regarded the patriot, aware there was something troubling his companion.

"Do you want to talk about something?" John asked quietly as he settled down in his favorite chair.

Crane sighed as he sat down on the couch opposite John. "I do have a question I would like to ask you, Mr. Reese, but I am unsure as to how to best broach the topic."

John smirked. "Call me John. I think you should just ask me."

Crane shifted in his seat. "I find myself in need of advice, Mr. R-John. You have cultivated the most extraordinary relationship with Detective Carter… and it find myself at a crossroads in my relationship with my own wife."

John blinked in surprise. While he did indeed have an "extraordinary relationship" with his mate, it was a fairly unconventional one. He never thought they would be the yardstick by which others would measure their own relationships, but John wisely kept silent. He could see that Crane was struggling with something, and John would like to help him if he could.

"Have you ever been in a position where you didn't trust your mate?" Crane asked.

John looked over at Crane in surprise. "No," he said honestly. "I've always trusted her, from the first moment I met her, even when I was under arrest."

"Has the Detective ever lied to you? Say, a lie of omission?" Crane asked carefully.

Joss gave the Witness a weak little smile. "Once, before we mated. She saved someone I thought she shouldn't have bothered with, and she didn't tell me about it. But I was being a jerk at the time, so I didn't blame her for not being honest with me."

"What would you do if your mate lied to you?"

"Joss doesn't lie," John stated firmly.

Crane took another long pull from his coffee. "My wife neglected to mention that she was a witch when we married. She didn't tell me I was destined to be Witness, or that we had a child. She also covered up her part in my childhood friend's death, even though she swears it was a tragic accident." Crane stopped and took a deep breath. "I love her, but…" his voice trailed off and John could see the pain and uncertainty in his eyes.

John put his coffee cup down and looked the Witness straight in the eye. "I know what it's like to spend years sharing a bed with someone I didn't trust, I don't recommend it. Find someone you can trust and hang onto them. Stick with the person who has your back no matter what."

Crane could see in John's eyes that he was speaking from harsh experience and he humbly bowed his head in the direction of the Alpha. "Thank you, John for your sage advice. I have found this conversation most enlightening."

* * *

While Ichabod and John where having their talk, Joss and Abbie were browsing through Joss's favorite shoe shop.

"So It looked like you and Ichabod were having 'moment' last night..." Joss started to say but Abbie cut her off.

"He's married so there was no moment," Abbie snapped.

Joss didn't say anything, she simply looked over at her friend with one perfectly shaped arched. Abbie's eyes flitted to Joss's face nervously and then away.

"Sorry Joss. I'm...just not ready to talk about it yet."

Joss nodded, not wanting to cause her friend any distress. "I'll be ready to talk when you are, Just call."

"Thanks. Someday I'll take you up on that offer," Abbie said.

Joss smiled, "You know where to find me."

* * *

That same morning saw Fusco pounding on a door in a shabby apartment building in a downscale area of Brooklyn. Officer Kowalski opened the door, blinking in the bright sunlight. "Fusco? What the hell?"

Fusco handed the sleepy cop a folded up piece of paper that he recognized as a warrant. "Read it and weep, scuzzball. We're here for you and your computer."

The officer paled. "My computer?" he repeated weakly.

Fusco gave the man a predatory smile. "Yeah, your computer. You know, the place where you keep the nudie pics of the 16 year old girls?"

Kowalski groaned and rested his forehead again the door jamb. "How?"

Fusco brushed by the officer. "Everything you do online leaves a trace. Not hard to follow if you know where to look. I know someone who knows where to look."

Kowalski glared at Fusco as he bagged and tagged his laptop. "I thought you were Homicide?"

Fusco gave the man an angelic smile as the uniformed officers he had brought with him rummaged through the apartment looking for more equipment, DVDs, or flash drives with possible evidence. "Yeah mostly, but today I'm doing a favor for friend. Not that I mind spending some time taking a perv like you off the street."

Kowalski snarled at Fusco as he was cuffed and hauled down the stairs to the patrol car.

Fusco emerged from the apartment building several minutes later and spotted Shaw leaning against the Lincoln across the street munching on a breakfast burrito. He crossed the street and leaned up against the car next to her. Wordlessly she handed him a bag with another burrito. He nodded his thanks and began to eat. They stood like that for several minutes as they ate their breakfast in quiet compatibility.

Shaw finished first and fished a flash drive out of her pocket. She handed it to Fusco who stuck it in his pocket. "That everything?" he asked taking his next-to-last bite.

Shaw nodded as she sipped a coffee. "Finch says there's enough there to make sure he doesn't see daylight for 20 years."

"Good," Fusco snapped. "To think that perv had his hands on Taylor." He shuddered.

Shaw's eyes glittered with malice. "Shoulda let me deal with him. I wouldn't even have left a body for you and Joss to deal with."

Fusco grunted as devoured the last of his breakfast. "If the trial goes south, I'll take you up on that. But I always try to do it Joss's way first. That way I don't get my ass chewed."

Shaw made a face. "You got plenty of ass to chew anyway. Joss's way is no fun. "

Fusco shook his head. "You can take that up with Alpha."

"No thanks, I like my appendages where they are."

"Smart," Fusco commented as he pitched the garbage into a nearby waste bin. "I'm going to book the Polish Pervert, and then Lee and I are going to go to the movies. You wanna come? Lee hasn't seen you in a month and he's asking about you."

Shaw checked her watch. "If no number comes up between now and then, sure."

"See you at three then."

"Later."

Fusco walked across the street, got in his car, and drove away. Shaw watched him drive off with a smile and then pulled out anther burrito and started eating.

* * *

A few days later, a small group of people looked on as an oak coffin with silver fittings was slowly lowered into the ground. Reverend Jeremy Schmidt** closed his Bible and watched sadly as the casket was carefully placed in the grave. Each of the few mourners filed by the open grave and tossed some dirt onto the coffin below.

Schmidt lay a gentle hand on the shoulder of a grieving Felipe Valdez as he watched the sad scene. Felipe, clad in a clean, but slightly too big suit, shifted uncomfortably and gave the pastor a fleeting glance before lowering his eyes again.

"He was a good man," Schmidt murmured. Felipe wiped a tear and nodded.

John and Joss approached the grieving pair. "I'm sorry about Roy."

"Thank you, John," Felipe said softly, his voice choked with tears.

"How are you feeling?" Joss asked with concern. Neither she or John mentioned that Felipe was speaking English now. That was a good sign.

Felipe shrugged. "The meds are working. I just wish Roy was here to see it. He was always trying to get me take them."

Finch joined the little group. "Felipe, this is my employer Harold Crane," John introduced him. "He's the one responsible for today."

Felipe shook Finch's hand vigorously. "Thank you! Thank you! I'm so glad Roy didn't wind up in a pauper's grave on Hart Island. He deserved better. He saved my life."

Finch gave Felipe a small smile. "I agree, Mr. Valdez. Mr. Travers was very brave. This was the least I could to do to honor his sacrifice."

John checked his watch. "We should get you to the train station soon, don't want to keep your sister in Baltimore waiting."

Felipe shuffled his feet and looked at Reverend Schmidt. "Are you sure about this? It's been so long since I saw my family..." his voice trailed off and he looked down again.

The pastor smiled softly and patted Felipe on the arm. "You sister was most anxious to see you again. She was afraid you were dead. I can't promise you an easy road, my son, but I think she is willing to walk it with you."

Felipe nodded and took a deep breath as he gathered his courage. "Let's go then."

* * *

When they arrived at the train station, John quickly found a parking space. They retrieved the duffel bag with Felipe's few meager belongings from the trunk and slowly walked to the platform, just in time for the train to pull into into the station.

Felipe shook John's hand. "Thanks for everything, John."

"Have a good life, Felipe. Roy would have wanted it that way."

John watched as Felipe climbed aboard the train. He watched as the train the slowly began to inch it's way out of the station, and he continued to watch until the train was out of sight down the tracks. To the casual observer, John's face was blank, but if they had looked closer, they would have seen a trace of hope in his eyes.

As John turned to make his way back to the car, his ear piece chirped. With small smile he answered the call, "Yes, Finch?"

"Is Mr. Valdez on his way home?" The familiar voice of his friend and employer asked.

"The train just left." John couldn't help but smile a little wider, he knew what Finch was going to say next.

"Good, because we have new number."

John unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat with his usual grace. "I'll be there in 20 minutes," he said as he started the car and pulled into traffic.

* * *

 ****We met Rev. Schmidt in my previous story No Wolves Allowed. He is the man who runs the soup kitchen where John would occasionally get a hot meal during his homeless days.**


End file.
